Toy spinning top



June 17, 1969 P. BALLEIS 3,449,858

TOY SPINNING TOP Filed Jan. 51, 1967 Sheet of 5 INVENTOR PETER BA LLEIS ATTORNEY June 17, 1969 P. BALLEIS 3,449,858

TOY SPINNING TOP Filed Jan. 31, 1967 Sheet 3 of 5 INVENTOR PETER BA LLEIS ATTORNEY June 17,1969 P. BALLEIS 3,449,858

Toy SPINNING-TOP Filed Jan. 31; 19s? INVENTOR PETER BALLEIS ATTORNEY Filed Jan. 31, 1967 June '1969 P. BALLEIS 3,449,858

TOY SP INNING TOP Sheet 4 of 5 INVENT PETER BAL S P. BALLEIS TOY SPINNING TOP June 17, 1969 ors Sheet Filed Jan. 31, 1967 INVENTOR PETER BALLEIS United States Patent US. Cl. 46-65 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy spinning top having a hollow, at least partly transparent spinning body, a reduction gear within and driven by said body, and a plurality of figures within said body and connected to and driven individually by the reduction gear relative to each other and to said body.

The present invention relates to improvements in a toy spinning top which comprises a spinning body which has an upper transparent hood-shaped part and is rotatable about a fixed axle pin which is secured to and projects upwardly from a base, a reduction gear which is driven by the spinning body and is enclosed within a housing which is rigidly connected to the axle pin and to a stationary lower disk, and another disk supporting one or more toy figures which is located above the stationary disk and driven by the reduction gear so as to rotate concentrically to the axle pin. In my previous German Patent No. 1,180,291, I-have disclosed a spinning top of the type as above described in which the rotary figure-supporting disk consists of a transparent plastic and the figures consist of small boats which are secured to the upper side of this disk. Since the stationary disk underneath the rotary transparent disk carries an imprint simulating a lake or the like, a child playing with the spinning top will get the impression that the boats float on the water and are moving thereon automatically.

' It is an object of the present invention to improve the spinning top as above described in such a manner that the figures on the supporting disk will carry out movements relative to each other and to this disk so that a child playing with the spinning top will get a more fascinating impression and will play with the toy with greater interest and enjoyment.

For attaining this object the invention provides that a gear ring or the like is secured to the stationary lower disk concentrically to the axle pin on which the spinning body is rotatable, and that this gear ring is in mesh with gear wheels or the like which are rotatably mounted on the upper supporting disk and connected to the figures so as to move the same relative to this disk. In place of the gear ring and gear wheels, it is also possible to provide friction wheels.

When the body of the spinning top is rotated, the gear wheels or the like which are rotatably mounted on the supporting disk will roll along the stationary gear ring or the like on the stationary lower disk and will thus be rotated together with the associated figures. The gear ring may be provided either with internal or external teeth. In order to permit as many figures as possible to be moved 3,449,858 Patented June 17, 1969 relative to each other it is possible to secure a second gear ring or the like to the stationary lower disk in a position so as likewise to extend concentrically to the axle pin. One of the gear rings may then be provided with external teeth and the other with internal teeth so that the individual figures will turn in diiferent directions. It is also possible to design one or both gear rings so that their teeth will only extend along a sector of, for example, When the gear wheels which engage with these gear rings then reach the toothless area of the latter, they and their associated figures will stop until the rotatable supporting disk carrying the gear wheel is turned sufficiently so as to reengage the gear wheels with the respective stationary gear sector.

One of the figures may be provided, for example, in the form of a multicolored sun shade or umbrella which is secured to the axle of a gear wheel above a toy automobile on the rotatable supporting disk. The figure on the axle of another gear wheel may consist, for example, of a multicolored ball above the figure of an animal so as to give the impression that the animal juggles with the revolving ball. The axle of a further gear wheel may carry a figure consisting of two circular, preferably multicolored, rings of the same diameter which intersect at right angles to each other and the common diameter of which extends in the direction of the axle of the gear wheel. At both sides of this gear wheel another gear wheel of the same size may be rotatably mounted in the supporting disk, and each of these gear wheels may be likewise provided with a similar multicolored circular double ring and be in mesh with the central gear wheel. The central gear wheel which engages with the gear ring will then rotate the'two other gear wheel and thus also the circular double rings which are secured thereto. The movements of these three double rings will fascinate the child which is playing with the spinning top because the individual rings of each double ring while turning will then alternately engage into the space between the two rings of each adjacent double ring without interfering with the movements of the latter.

These and other features of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 shows an axial section of a spinning top according to the invention;

FIGURES 2 and 3 show side views of two of the figures of the spinning top according to FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 shows a perspective view of the spinning top according to FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 shows a top view of'the figure-supporting disk of the spinning top according to FIGURE 1 from which the hood and its driving means have been removed;

FIGURE 6 shows a top view of the stationary lower disk of the spinning top according to FIGUREI;

FIGURE 7 shows a top view of a figure-supporting disk similar to that as shown in FIGURE 5, but provided with internal teeth on the gear ring;

FIGURE 8 shows a top view of a stationary lower disk similar to that as shown in FIGURE 6, but in which one gear ring is provided with internal teeth, while the 3 other gear ring only forms a sector of approximately 180 with external teeth; while FIGURE 9 shows a cross section which is taken along the line IX-IX of FIGURE 8.

As illustrated in the drawings, the spinning top according to the invention is provided with a base 1 which may consist of rubber or an elastic plastic and in which an axle pin 2 is secured on which the body of the spinning top is rotatable which consists of an opaque cup-shaped 1 lower part 3 and a transparent hood 4 of plastic. The lower part 3 and the hood 4 are separated by a cover plate 5 which is rigidly secured to these parts. Hood 4 carries a central tube 6 in which a drill spindle 7 is mounted which is provided with a knob 8 on its upper end. When this knob 8 together with the drill spindle 7 is moved up and down, the entire body 3, 4, 5 of the spinning top will be rotated in the usual manner in the clockwise direction, as seen from above in FIGURE 1.

Cover plate 5 carries a pinion 9 which is rigidly secured to its center and engages with a gear wheel 10 which is rotatably mounted in a housing 11 of a reduction gear. This housing 11 is rigidly secured to a circular lower disk 12 which, in turn, is rigidly connected to axle pin 2. The shaft of gear wheel 10 carries a pinion 13 which engages with a gear wheel 14 which is rigidly secured to a tubular shaft 15. As shown in FIGURE 1, this shaft 15 is provided on its upper end projecting from the housing 11 with a driving disk 16 which is rigidly secured to shaft 15 and rigidly connected to a circular figure supporting disk 17.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the upper side of the lower disk 12 carries rigidly thereon a gear ring 18 which is stamped of sheet metal and the external teeth of which engage with gear wheels 19 to 23 which are located between the two disks 12 and 17 and secured to shafts 24 to 28 which are rotatably mounted in the supporting disk 17. The upper end of shaft 24 carries a ball 29, the two halves of which may be made of different colors, for example, red and yellow. The upper end of shaft 25 carries an umbrella which may be divided into three sectors of 120 of different colors, for example, red, blue, and white.

The shaft 26 of gear wheel 21 carries a double ring which is composed of two circular rings 31 and 32 which are disposed at right angles to each other and intersect at their upper and lower ends. Shafts 27 and 28 likewise carry similar double rings 31, 32. The individual rings 31 and 32 may be made of different colors.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the supporting disk 17 has secured to its upper side underneath the ball 29 the figure 33 of an animal, for example, a dog, and underneath the umbrella 30 a small automobile 34 with a driver 35.

When the spinning top as illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 5 is rotated by the drill spindle 7 by upward and downward movements of knob 8, pinion 9 which is rigidly secured to cover plate 5 will turn the supporting disk 17 in the direction of the arrow 36 in FIGURE 5 by means of the gear wheels 10, 13, and 14, the tubular shaft 15 and the driving disk 16. Gear wheels 19 to 23 are then taken along by the supporting disk 17 and thus roll along the gear ring 18. Ball 29, umbrella 30, and the three double rings 31, 32 then rotate in the direction of the arrows 37. These three double rings 31, 32 are disposed in relation to each other so as not to interfere with each other during their rotation in the direction of the arrows 37.

If the supporting disk 17 is transparent, the lower disk 12 may be provided with an imprint, for example, of spirally-shaped stripes 12 of different colors, as indicated in FIGURE 6. The area of the supporting disk 17 above the gear ring 18 and gear wheels 19 to 23 may in this case be made opaque so as to render these parts invisible. If, on the other hand, the entire supporting disk 17 is opaque, it may be provided with a suitable imprint. An inverted cup-shaped part 17 which may be integral with the supporting disk 17 and is connected to the driving disk 16 covers the housing 11 of the reduction gear.

As illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9, a gear ring 38 is secured to the lower stationary disk 12" and provided with internal teeth which engage with the gear wheels 19 to 23 so that, when the spinning top is rotated in the direction of the arrow 36, as shown in FIGURE 7, gear wheels 19 to 23 on their respective shafts 24 to 28 will rotate in the direction of the arrows 39.

FIGURES 8 and 9 further illustrate that a gear-ring sector 40 forming approximately one-half of a ring is secured to the lower stationary disk 12". The external teeth of this gear sector engage with the gear wheels 19 and 20 so that, when the supporting disk 17 is turned in the clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE 8, gear wheels 19 and 20 will be turned in the direction of the arrows 41 until they disengage from gear ring 40. Gear wheels 19 and 20 together with the ball 29 and the umbrella 30 will then stop until the supporting disk 17 has turned far enough so as to reengage gear wheels 19 and 20 with the gear sector 40.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim 1. In a toy spinning top comprising a hollow body rotatable on a pin secured to and projecting upwardly from a fixed base and having an upper part forming a transparent hood, a reduction gear driven by the rotatable body and having a housing rigidly connected to said pin and to a stationary lower disk, and a figure-supporting disk above said stationary disk rotatable concentrically to said pin and driven by said reduction gear and carrying figures, wherein the improvement comprises at least one gear ring, secured to said stationary disk and being concentrical to said pin, and a plurality of gear wheels adapted to engage with said gear rings and rotatably mounted on said suporting disk and connected to said figures for moving the same relative to each other and to said supporting disk whereby on rotation of said hollow body said figures are moved.

2. A spinning top as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second gear ring having a diameter different from that of said first gear rim and also secured to said stationary lower disk and being concentrical to said pin and adapted to engage with at least one of said gear wheels.

3. A spinning top as defined in claim 2, wherein one of said gear rings has internal teeth and the other gear ring has external teeth.

4. A spinning top as defined in claim 3, wherein at least one of said gear rings is provided with teeth only within a sector of a circle.

5. A spinning top as defined in claim 3, wherein at least one of said gear rings only forms a gear sector of substantially 6. A spinning top as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said figures comprises a toy automobile on said supporting disk and a colored umbrella-like cover above said automobile and secured to the shaft of one of said gear wheels.

7. A spinning top as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said figures comprises an animal figure on said supporting disk and a colored ball above said animal figure and secured to the shaft of one of said gear wheels.

8. A spinning top as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said figures comprises a double ring composed of two colored rings of substantially the same diameter disposed at substantially right angles to each other and connected to and intersecting each other and secured to the shaft of one of said gear wheels in a position in which the common diametrical line of both rings extends coaxially to said shaft.

9. A spinning top as defined in claim 8, wherein three of said gear wheels of the same size are disposed adjacent to each other, the two outer gear wheels engaging with the central gear wheel, and said central gear wheel engaging with said gear ring, and one of said double rings being secured to the shaft of each of said three gear wheels.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,018,537 10/1935 Savage 4668 2,997,808 8/1961 Balleis 4668 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047,915 10/1966 Great Britain.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner.

10 ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner.

US. 01. X.R. 46--66, 68 

